YOU know what they say - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

And, depressingly, that old maxim fits Wigan Athletic like a glove these days.

Because I'm beginning to think that the only way Latics manager Paul Jewell and his bonny team are ever going to get the support they deserve is to pick up sticks and go and play their football in a town which doesn't believe that the only sport worth watching is Rugby League.

Look at the gate Wigan "attracted" for their match at the JJB Stadium against Crystal Palace last Saturday. Less than 7,000. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

OK, the town of Wigan is steeped in Rugby League traditions. But Plymouth isn't exactly a soccer hot-bed, is it? And they had a crowd of over 11,000 for their home match against Oldham on the same day - and they are in a lower division.

Bigger gates

What about Doncaster and Swansea? They both had bigger gates than Wigan - and those two clubs are in Division Three.

Yes, I know. Wigan's match against Palace was screened live by Sky. All I can say is that there must be an awful lot of Sky subscribers in Wigan if less than 7,000 supporters can be bothered to get out of their armchairs to watch their team in the flesh.

We aren't talking here about a team which is down there among the dead ducks in the First Division or even in the relative obscurity of mid-table. We are talking here about Wigan Athletic.Top of the First Division on merit.

So close to the Premiership that manager Jewell and his lads can probably taste it. And their reward for 17 First Division games played and only two defeats? A crowd on Saturday of 6,796.

What is going to happen if Wigan go the full mile and Jewell steers his side into the Premiership at the end of this season? Don't laugh because I'm not betting against it from what I've seen of Jewell's team this past couple of months.

How on earth do you run a Premiership club on gates of 7,000? How do you attract Premiership players or pay Premiership wages?

The answer to all those questions, of course, is that you don't.

Owner Dave Whelan has done eveything he can OFF the pitch and manager Jewell everything he can ON the pitch to give the town a football club to be proud of.

And the blunt truth is that the town doesn't want to know. Wigan the place doesn't deserve Wigan Athletic the club.